Wish
by OphiuchusIXII
Summary: AU/AH One Shot / Elena Gilbert is suffering the loss of her best friend, and her twin sister Katherine. After moving to iconic San Francisco, Elena comes across an opportunity to get the one thing she felt was missing in her life. It's One tragedy, Two Sisters, and Three Wishes that change everything. Will Elena's wishes come true? (Part III of IV uploaded)
1. Part I

**A/N: Hey! Thought I'd come out with another one-shot. Usually the one shots I do are inspired by something, or someone (Like** **Soulmates** **, my Kennett one-shot). This is a AU/AH one-shot based on Alexandra Bullen's** _ **Wish**_ **. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do. It isn't classic literature per se, and the second book** _ **Wishful Thinking**_ **is much, much better. However, if you are bored, check the book out at the library, or buy it or however you read your books and read them both. If you haven't already, check out my multi-chapter fanfic** **When Time Starts Running Out** **too.**

 **Thanks for the support!**

* * *

"Elena, when do you plan on waking up?" Her mother, Miranda Gilbert amusedly peered at her daughter in bed.

Elena Gilbert woke up after a much needed nap, one caused by her moving to the iconic city of SanFran. The eighteen year old girl was so tired she felt numb. But then, she was feeling that more and more often lately. Almost all the time.

And right now, she didn't appreciate her mother's interruption from her dreamless sleep.

"Mom," Elena gave her that exasperated look everyone has given to their smart-alec mother.

"It's your first day of school! Forgive me for being excited,"

"Too bad that it's not me," Elena added.

Now it was Miranda's turn to give her said exasperated look, and quickly stalked out of her teenage daughter's bedroom.

She couldn't help it. She didn't understand how her mother could possibly parade around without any sorrow. Sure, her mother did unhealthily force herself into work at her new office a day after the Gilberts moved into the home their dead great-aunt left for them. And, okay, maybe the fights between her and Grayson worsened everyday (Elena had to listen the half-assed whispered fight the entire ride here), which should be an indicating sign of the sorrows they were both feeling.

But how did Miranda so effortlessly wake up the next day, and get ready to face the world? Elena didn't understand, and frankly, she was jealous.

Elena could use the boost of energy to start at school today.

As Elena got up out of bed, and into the comfy lavender slippers she got at the local thrift store back at Mystic Falls, she heard her mother call for her from the stairs.

"I left some lunch money on the dinner table, and don't forget your house keys. I set you up with Kelly Donovan's son - you remember her right? Anyway, he's supposed to show you around school. I hope you have a good day at school, dear,"

"Yeah Mom. You too," Elena muttered to ears that didn't hear.

After she had some green tea (even though it tasted like gun metal), reminiscent of the economy-sized box that Katherine got for her, she got dressed and grabbed her keys.

.

.

.

"You must be Elena," the brown-haired boy squinted at the olive-skinned beauty.

Elena last remembered sitting down at the base of a tree, resting her head against the large, scratchy trunk. She could tell that the boy had been there for a while, by the embarrassed way he was switching the weight onto each foot.

The blonde kept speaking, "I'm Matt. Our moms work together," he then put his hand out, but took it back in an instant. He noticed Elena's darkened circles under her eyes, and the yawn that was threatening to release from her lips.

"We can do the tour later if you would like," he added, hesitant.

"No, no. I'm fine. The move's just got very tiring. I promise you, I'm totally fine, Matt," Elena smiled an easy smile. Matt probably took notice of how forced the smile was, not to add the way she was convincing herself more than anything her ability to endure the tour and thus the rest of the school day.

"Great. If you could follow me Ms. Elena Gilbert," he said with easily the most heart-warming smile ever. Elena figured he was saying that for her benefit, so she smiled too. This one was less forced.

They walked through to the double doors of Golden Gate Prep, the hip school with glass walls and futuristic lobbies.

"This is the lobby. Our secretary, Beth. Beth," a pink-dyed woman with a phone precariously placed between a shoulder and ear waved, "...Elena," Matt finished.

"So...Where are you coming from?" he asked.

"Charleston," Elena didn't bother mentioning Mystic Falls, the small town that was only twenty minutes from the capital, that almost no one heard of and for all anyone could imagine, it was in another state.

"Cool. I got some cousins that live there,"

"Yeah. It's not as cool as San Francisco though, is it?" Elena asked back. She was getting better at this. She was coaching herself inside her own head,

 _Answer a question, than ask another one._

"Yeah for sure - no offence."

"None taken,"

"I just love everything about this place. I mean, this school does get a little old, but it's home," Matt, who was walking a couple steps ahead, looked back to smile at her. How did he find it so easy to smile?

After Matt and Elena walked through the hallways with the beautiful art plastered on the walls, they were greeted with another double door that lead them to the cafeteria.

If you could call it that.

The courtyard, a large, spacious circle with sunlight hitting on the crooked cobblestone. Scattered in low tables, shaded by the Californian trees, students laughed with each other. It looked like the UN, if the dress code was skinny jeans and American Eagle apparel. Typical Cali. Elena glanced around the courtyard.

"Did you find them yet?" Matt looked straight ahead as he asked Elena.

"Who am I looking for?"

"The VIPs. They don't want to call themselves as much but they are. And if you look hard enough, you can find them." Elena deciphered in that, Matt was asking him if she found the 'it' crowd.

Her eyes stopped at another blonde. One she knew didn't come from a box. She had bright blue eyes, and pearly-whites were on full show. They never seemed to leave her face.

Caroline was a study in layers. She wore a knit sweater on top of a printed summer dress, with a chunky belt adorning her slim waist.

"Ding, Ding, Ding," Matt called out, "Caroline Forbes. Daughter to the city's police chief Elizabeth Forbes. I think her father is an actual diplomat for Scotland,"

"She's pretty." She wasn't pretty. She was effortlessly the most stunning human that Elena had ever seen. And Caroline wasn't even trying.

"I guess. If you're into that thing," Matt offhandedly mentioned.

"Clearly you're not,"

"Well. I've had time to observe,"

Elena smirked to herself.

"Did you date or something?" Elena glanced at Matt with a curious look.

It was Matt's turn to turn to Elena and grin.

"Or something,"

He gulped, his Adam's Apple bobbing, and glancing down at his shoes before asking another question. But before he asked, Elena felt a sudden shock of pain caused by impact. Impact, of a football.

"Hey," a male voice behind her called.

Elena turned around to find a handsome teenager with light brown hair, and green eyes.

"Sorry for that, I didn't mean to aim for you,"

"Yeah, you were trying to hit me," Matt joked around. He seemed to remember that Elena was beside him, and quickly introduced them to one another.

"Stefan, this is Elena Gilbert. Elena, meet Stefan Salvatore,"

"It's nice to meet you Elena. I hope to see you in some of my classes," Stefan gave her a nice firm handshake,before running ahead of them both to Caroline. Elena could see Caroline wrap her arms around his neck, as he leaned in for a kiss.

"So, why are you here?"

Elena momentarily remembered that Matt was beside her, chiding herself for daydreaming about a taken boy, before looking at Matt.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Why are you here?"

Elena's face had a shocked look before sternly looking at Matt. If she answered the question, she knew that he would feel like a complete ass, and their lunch would be incredibly awkward.

Saying the words, she sometimes felt like there was no way that this could be her life. That it wasn't from a movie. Elena so desperately prayed she would wake up to it being just that. It's been like that for the past six months. The wounds were still fresh.

"Uh, sorry. That sounded a lot less harsh in my head,"

"I'm betting," Elena gave Matt a dry look.

"You know what I mean. It's a Thursday after the March Break. Who moves into a school six months in?" Matt continued.

"Come on, Matt,"

"So what is it? A messy divorce? You in the middle of custody battles? Trouble with the law?"

"My mom got a job at the firm,"

"My mom's firm is good, but it isn't good enough to move across the entire country," Matt's eyebrows were starting to waggle.

Elena said the next words to the ground, trying to steady her buckling knees and the red blossoming on her neck.

"My twin, Katherine...she died," Elena glanced up to see Matt's sympathetic eyes.

"My mom went to university a couple towns over, so they figured it would be a new start, or an old one I guess," Elena tried to comfort him.

Elena didn't have to ask to know that he was starting to feel like an ass, and they were going to finish their lunch in utter uncomfort.

.

.

.

Elena got home that day to the sounds of Dad's drill. Grayson Gilbert had set up a clinic back in Mystic Falls, but while he was here, he was hesitant to start something here as well. He instead focused on the death trap that was Great-Aunt Penny's Victorian house.

It was old. And nothing ever worked in this house. The doors never shut properly, the windows always let the cold night air in. Grayson's one project turned into millions of tiny projects that never neared completion. It was things like this that always had Elena wondering why they decided to move into this specific, dying, house.

"How was school, hun?" Grayson asked, sensing his daughter walked into the house.

"It was okay,"

"Did you make any friends?" Grayson questioned his daughter. Elena looked at her father in disbelief. How could he even ask that question. Her entire life, she had walked around with a personal social compass. Katherine was so open and honest. She was fun to be around, and she would always keep you entertained. Elena was the one that tagged along, always a shadow to her sister.

Katherine was the girl that loved everyone, and whom everyone loved.

When Katherine died, the first couple months a couple of their friends, like Serena and Blake, would call her over to chill at Jackson's basement. After a while though, they stopped bothering to call her. It confirmed Elena's worst fears.

They were really Katherine's friends all along. _Her_ friends. Not _their_ friends.

"Yeah, a couple," it was premature to call the people she talked to in class once friends, but she was saying it for her father's benefit more than her own.

Elena wasn't oblivious; her friends have always told her that her father was 'hot', but she'd always blush whenever she heard it.

But when he turned around to finally face her, Elena couldn't help but notice the greying hairs and his sunken-in eyeballs.

Her father hadn't signed up for this either.

It had been her mother's decision to move them half-way across the country. After Katherine's death, everything changed. Her mother got the job at the firm, they just happened to own a house here too, and her father finally had a new project.

Elena didn't remember much from the night her parents told her they were moving. She remembered she was thinking that she should have been protesting.

She only asked of logistics. When were they moving, did the book the tickets. Elena didn't show any obvious upset feelings.

She even tried to cry that day. She wanted to feel something, anything.

Elena didn't even cry at the funeral.

 _What does that make me?_

 _._

 _One Week Later_

 _._

"Hey, Elena!"

"Matt!" Elena responded to her name being called for.

"What's up?," she continued as Matt jogged up to her from behind.

"Here," he dove his hand into his leather messenger bag, in hopes of looking for what he pulled out; a bright neon orange flyer.

"It's the Spring Equinox party. I know, you're thinking, who celebrates the Spring Equinox, but Stefan's brother Damon has this awesome house near The Bluffs, and Stefan's a part of a band that plays that night. You should come," Matt seemed really eager to see Elena at the party.

"Oh yeah, Caroline told me about it," Elena nonchalantly explained.

"You talk to Caroline?"

"Yeah. She's something huh?"

"When did you start talking to her?" Matt was a bit shocked. Caroline was an open and friendly person, but Elena was understated and pretty shy.

"But I didn't promise anything to her," Elena told Matt.

"Come on. I'll be there," Matt waggled his shoulders, trying to resemble a party in his body.

"You love I love a good party," Elena chuckled, "...but I can't exactly leave my dad alone for the night. I would feel guilty otherwise,"

"Elena. I love you, but you're such a bore. What's one night? I'll promise I'll drop you off at home in time for Jeopardy with your dad," Matt lightly shoved Elena with his own shoulder.

"Hey, don't call me old, you know I love me some trivia," Elena smiled.

"Well, you coming?"

"Ughh, fine. Fine! I'll come! You happy?!" Elena laughed.

"Really. I'll pick you up at 8, okay?" Matt asked before starting to his car at the school parking lot.

Elena's face went from the laughing one to something else.

"Matt. We're going as friends right?" Elena timidly asked.

Matt's expression changed too. He scrunched his eyebrows in a frowning motion before slowly nodding.

"Yeah. For sure. We're just friends,"

Matt was a bit disappointed. Elena felt guilty when that look crossed his face. But she couldn't think about that now. She needed to find an outfit. And not think about the horrible time she was going to have at a party she had no business going to.

.

.

.

Elena found herself a week later, strolling through the streets of Dolores Park, trying to find that one place that she always drove by after school.

She looked in her own closet the Wednesday night before, to find that she had absolutely nothing to wear. The ugly Ooma Loompa dress her second cousin made her wear as her junior bridesmaid back in sophomore year, the dress she wore for junior prom, and a sundress. All of which didn't match the party she was going to.

She remembered Katherine loving everything fashion. Katherine wasn't the one that bought clothes in heaps. Rather in small quantities that amassed quite quickly, as Miranda and Elena noticed when they were going through her stuff.

 _That's it. Maybe Katherine has the thing she was looking for._

She walked through the door in her bedroom, connected to a smaller room. The room with a built-in sofa at the bay windows, and the slanted roof. It was the room that Katherine would have wanted.

Elena quickly stalked over to the other end of the room, to the cardboard boxes of Katherine's clothing she didn't have the heart to give away.

"Please say it's here, please say it's here," Elena repeated to herself as a mantra. She was trying to find one dress in specific.

"Found it!" Elena had her eureka moment. And it was worth the wait, because the dress was absolutely gorgeous.

It's sweetheart neckline, and the slight A-line silhouette the dress seemed to shape, was breathtaking on Katherine's body. It stopped just an inch above her knee, and the white colour, with contrasting coloured circles that perfectly complimented each other.

It was a dress that Katherine never got to wear anywhere.

" _I'll find a seamstress, 'Lena. Don't worry, they'll fix this tear right away. This is nothing to them,"_ Katherine told Elena. The tear went from the bottom all the way to the hip. It was one of the reasons that it sold for so cheap.

But Katherine wouldn't listen to reason. She wanted the dress.

It was why Elena was on the local streets. She was looking for Bennett's Boutique. As she glanced to the side, in a passing glance, she noticed the place.

She quickly ran over to the other side, of the street. It was when she got to the other side and reached for the door handle that she noticed the sign,

 _Bennett's Boutique_

 _Closed_

Elena in a moment of rebelliousness, opened the door after she saw movement behind the glass.

"We're closed," the young girl called out. She was dressed in a green knit cardigan and a white camisole on the inside. Her back was facing Elena, but she noticed that the store owner was holding a book. One of those cheesy romance novels that middle-aged moms would buy for themselves.

"I saw the sign, I just…"

"I said we're…," the girl started, but didn't finish. She started an entirely new topic. "Wait. Can I see your dress?"

"Uhm, yeah of course," Elena quickly pulled out the dress from the bag that she was carrying.

The girl, whom Elena quickly realized couldn't be that much older than herself, walked over to Elena, her eyes never leaving the dress. Her fingers splayed over the dress' fabric, feeling it's softness to the touch.

"This is beautiful, is it vintage?"

Elena looked down at her Converse, "I don't know. That was more of my sister's thing,"

The girl sensed the tone. She felt Elena's sadness at mentioning that in waves.

"But I see the tear here. Pity," the dressmaker paid attention to the dress again.

"Yeah," Elena sighed.

"Well, this shouldn't be too much of a problem to solve. Come by Saturday," the girl said with a smile.

"That's the thing. I kind of need it by tomorrow," Elena apologetically mentioned.

After a pause, she added.

"Leave your name and address in the book," nudging toward the big and dusty leather bound book, "I'll drop it off tomorrow,"

"Thank you so much…"Elena drifted off realizing she didn't get a name,

"Bonnie,"

"Thank you Bonnie,"

"I'll see ya tomorrow," Bonnie smiled

.

 _The Next Day_

.

" _This dress isn't mine,"_ was Elena's first thought. What she was expected was Katherine's fixed dress. What she wasn't expecting was an entirely new dress.

It wasn't that the new dress was ugly, it fact it was beautiful. Very beautiful. It just wasn't hers.

For one, this new dress was long, not short like the one she gave Bonnie. Another, it was the wrong colour. This gown she was holding was a forest green colour, with a plunging v-neck.

When she unfolded the dress fully, out fell a note.

 _Try it on first,_

 _Bonnie_

" _Well, I guess that's what I have to do,"_

After a couple minutes of trying it on, Elena knew she would be too overdressed for an equinox party, where no doubt they would be wearing togas made out of bed sheets. But, she was also way to in love with how beautiful the dress looked on her to take it off again.

When she did a twirl in front of her mirror, she noticed a small logo stitched into the dress. Elena with no avail, tried to take it off. So she tried to forget about it for the rest of the night.

By the time Matt came and picked her up, she couldn't help but feel flattered at the look on Matt's face.

" _Going with this dress was the right choice,"_

Elena smiled to herself.

.

.

.

Elena couldn't help but drop her jaw as Matt's truck came into view of the beautiful house. The mansion, which hung on the _edge of a cliff_ , it's square edges haphazardly hung off the cliff.

"Damn,"

"I know. Stefan's brother made a fortune off of his line of alcohols. His most popular one is the bourbon, of course," Matt confided.

"Are you sure that he didn't invent bourbon," Elena was in shock.

Matt only playfully rolled his eyes and held out his elbow for her to hold, which she did with great ease.

Once she got inside, she noticed all the kids with makeshift togas meant to represent the spring. They were going to count down to the first day of Spring. How cool is that?

One of the servers walking by held out a tray full of tequila shots. Without a second thought, Elena grabbed one and chugged it down her throat.

"Whoa, you okay?" Matt asked, warned by the suddenness of her move.

"Yeah, totally fine." Elena was repeating that too many times it seems.

"I see Max over there. I'll be right back, just gonna say hello,"

"Okay. I'm just heading to the restroom," Elena mentioned to Matt.

When she got there, there was a crazy long line up. One she didn't have time for. Nonetheless, she didn't have anyone to go back to, so she decided to wait in line.

"Hey, Elena right?" a voice called from behind.

She turned around to see Stefan.

"Hey Stefan. How are you doing?" Elena smiled at him. A little _too_ brightly, she hoped not.

"I'm doing really good, you?" Stefan replied back

"I'm great!"

Their conversation went into an uncomfortable silence. It was Elena that surprisingly that spoke next,

"I heard that your band is performing tonight?"

"Yeah! We've been gearing up for this performance for months. We really want to hit it off really strong. But, enough about me. Tell me, how is school fairing for you?"

Elena felt good talking to Stefan. He was so kind and compassionate, and never seemed to be the bragging type.

"School is different here, but I'm getting used to it," Elena smiled again.

The line ahead of them finally shrunk so small that Elena was next in line. Talking with Stefan did that, she realized.

"Well, good luck with your performance," Elena called out as she opened the door.

.

.

.

Stefan was literally the God of Drums. Elena couldn't help but admire the Adonis that was Stefan Salvatore.

After the band performed their final performance (a sound that sounded an awful lot like the _King of Leons_ ), in which Elena had a total of 6 shots, and a couple of glasses of red wine, she was buzzed. She noticed Stefan wave at her, asking her to come on stage.

Elena widened her eyes. _"No way",_ she thought to herself in her head.

The moment she started to walk toward him, she felt a windy breeze of blonde hair pass her.

"I'm coming, Stefan," Caroline half-laughed out.

Tyler Lockwood, the lead for their band, starting counting down to the Spring Equinox.

 _10...9...8_

Caroline almost lept into Stefan's lap.

 _7...6.._

Stefan grinned as Caroline wrapped her long arms around his slender neck, and Caroline reciprocated the smile.

 _5...4...3…_

Elena just felt really alone.

 _2...1…_

" _Where was Katherine when you needed her?"_ Elena bitterly asked herself.

Elena didn't stick around to watch Caroline and Stefan lean in for a midnight kiss.

.

.

.

The taxi guy gave a look at Elena's drunken exterior and quickly chided her

"I just got newly upholstered seats. You throw up, you pay,"

Elena couldn't even nod properly without feeling dizzy.

The car started and she felt like throwing up. At one point, she always depended on Katherine to keep her entertained, or at least, she was someone to talk to. The party always managed to find Katherine. But Elena didn't control what she drank, she took too many shots, jello and otherwise. She was absolutely miserable.

" _I just wish Katherine was here,"_

.

.

.

Elena didn't bother to take off her makeup or her dress. If she took it off, maybe she would have noticed the logo that was once stitched into the dress was gone.

It was 2:00 in the morning when she suddenly woke up to the smell of cigarettes. It`s unfamiliar, tangy smell. Unable to sleep, she walked over to the glass doors, to open up to the balcony. Elena was hoping that the smell would leave just as fast as it came. But under the billowing, gauzy white curtains, she couldn't help but sense the smell didn't come within her own room.

Elena, in a sudden impulse, opened the door connecting it to Katherine`s room.

What she saw, Elena had to do a double take. There she was, with her curly brown hair, and her dramatic eye makeup. Smoking a cigar. Wearing the same dress she was in when she... _died._

"Katherine," Elena's eyes widened.

"Hey, baby sis,"

* * *

 **Now that I've written this out, I'll think I'll add one more chapter, doing the second half of the story sometime next week. Rate/Review/Follow! I love doing shots like this!**

 **Till Next Time,**

 **Ann**


	2. Part II

**A/N; Hey! I'm back with a Part II to my story Wish, which is based on the story of the same title by Alexandra Bullen. I think I'm going to have to add one more part to this story. Maybe even two more. Let's see how it goes.**

 **What did you guys think about the series finale? I know a lot of people didn't really like it, but to be honest, I agree with Plec, you don't necessarily need to be alive to be happy. Stefan found peace wherever he is. Everyone found peace, and I am really happy. I want to thank the Vampire Diaries. I've been through some hard times in my life, and for a while, this show provided an escape that I needed. I am so grateful to the cast and crew, the producers, everyone. They have no idea how much the show helped me.**

 **Without further ado.**

* * *

 **Part II**

" _Katherine?" Elena's eyes widened._

" _Hey, baby sis,"_

"How is this possible?" Elena gasped in a half-whisper, "I think I've finally gone mad,"

Elena stalked through the door back into her own room, and quickly got into bed, pulling the covers comfortably up to her chin.

Elena comfortably closed her eyes for a second, before feeling a weight on her torso. Her eyes flung open to see Katherine leaning over her, her chocolate curls falling over her face and dangling on Elena's cheek.

"That's it. I've officially gone mad,"

"I've been saying that for years…" Katherine smirked.

"How are you here?"

"I've been dead for a while 'Lena. I'm dead. And me, the all knowing, don't know how I got here. Why don't you retrace your steps?" Ghost Katherine suggested.

Regardless of the drug-hazed situation that Elena seemed to be in, she gently smiled at the small reminder of the game that Miranda and Katherine used to play. Katherine would lose something of value; the car keys, her phone, or otherwise. And suddenly, her mother would pop up to retrace Katherine's steps.

Katherine would always refute the effectiveness of said game, and her mother would always prove her wrong.

It was beautifully simple - that time.

Now, all Elena could think about was going through the motions.

"I went to the Spring Equinox party. I drank too much. I was feeling depressed," Elena spoke.

"How come?"

"Cause you weren't there," Elena glanced at Katherine pointedly, which Katherine took great offence to, placing a hand on her chest dramatically, with a feigned expression of offence on her face.

"Come on, Kat. It's true. I suck at social gatherings-"

"You mean parties. God, can't you speak like a normal teen?" Katherine chided.

"Sorry,"

Elena still couldn't believe she was carrying this conversation on, with a ghost nonetheless. However, this hallucination of Katherine Gilbert, was what she needed.

"Okay, what happened next?"

"I don't know. I came with this guy, Matt-"

"Oooh, do you like him?"

"No. I don't feel anything like that for him," Elena continued, "I left him at the party. I got into a taxi. And I wished for you,"

"What do you mean 'wish' for you?," Katherine paid closer attention for the answer, "Like...fairy tale style?" She later suggested.

"I don't know Katherine, maybe?" Elena that, like she was questioning herself.

"And then?"

"What more do I need to tell you? I wished for you," Elena was exasperated at Katherine.

"Chill 'Lena. Just because you can see me, doesn't mean others can. You need to mind yourself,"

"Sorry," Elena found herself apologizing for the second time in that interaction.

It suddenly dawned on her, amidst the Katherine-ghost reincarnation, and her drunk self, that Elena realized the one thing she missed.

"The glowing thing,"

"What?"

Elena's hand skimmed down the chiffon of the forest-green dress. No stitching of that golden logo. What was it?

 _A moth? A bee? No...a butterfly._

"It's gone?" Elena asked herself in question more than an actual statement.

"What's gone, Elena?," Katherine was starting to get impatient.

"The butterfly?"

"Excuse me?," Katherine asked again. Their conversation so far has just been a series of questions back and forth. Katherine was hoping to get some answers this time around.

"There was a butterfly on this dress, when Bonnie gave it to me. But, it's not there," Elena gasped at her findings.

"Okay, you need to back up. Who is this _Bonnie?_ ," Katherine had a slight sneer on her face.

"She's the seamstress."

"You got a seamstress?"

"Yeah, for that vintage dress? You know, the one with the polka dots?"

Katherine's fingers snapped in recognition, "That's right! I remember now. God, too bad I didn't get a chance to fix that dress,"

"Well I attempted to. But Bonnie gave me a totally different dress. Not that I'm complaining of course, I mean this dress is absolutely stunning," Elena remarked, twirling again, admiring the fabric as it pooled around her legs.

"Can't believe I'm telling you this, but you got to focus!" Katherine's comment snapped Elena back into attention. There was an awkward pause as Elena seemed deep in thought, before Katherine's next words spilled out.

"You still can't believe this can you?," Katherine asked Elena.

"I mean would you? You go to bed, and your sister is dead. You wake up the next morning to find your sister smoking cigars on the balcony. That is not average," Elena responded.

"Well, you know how I feel about average," Katherine started taking another Cuban cigar from her pack. She didn't even notice Katherine had a thing for _Cuban Cigars._

"And you know how I feel about smoking," Elena plucked said the lit cigar right out of Katherine's fingers before Katherine could protest.

"Back to the important issues, at hand; we need to talk to this Bonnie"

.

.

.

"It's here somewhere," Elena and Ghost Katherine were walking in Dolores Park.

They were currently finding Bennett's Boutique.

"Is it this one?" Katherine pointed at the store front, the big windows enclosing mannequins with beautiful dresses on.

"Yeah,"

Elena had to remind herself that her sister was invisible to everyone else. So while Katherine was fiddling with the cloth on the mannequins, Elena was trying to find the courage to talk to Bonnie Bennett. She was a tad bit terrifying.

"Hello Elena," Bonnie didn't look up from the book she was reading. It was the erotica that middle-aged moms read with the shirtless sailor on the front cuddling with a beautiful blonde in a pirate dress.

"Hi," Elena's converses squeaked on the floor.

"Do you need something?," Bonnie finally looked up from the novel she was reading.

Elena glanced back at her sister who was pointing her finger toward Bonnie urging her to talk.

"I just realized that I forgot to pay you," Elena reached for her wallet.

This was not going as planned. Katherine dramatically face-palmed.

Bonnie just smirked, and eyed Elena with sympathy.

"Hey," she smiled, "...don't worry about it," Elena just glanced back at the mannequin that Katherine was near. Katherine was encouraging her with motions to try again.

"Actually, I have something to tell you...ask you really," Elena started.

"I know,"

"You do?" Elena asked incredulously.

"Considering the fact that you're taking cues from the corner of the room, which I'm assuming is coming from your sister," Bonnie deduced.

Elena without thinking looked back at Katherine, and then looked down at her Converse just as quickly in shame. And than a realization came to her,

"How do you know?"

"Look, you might want to sit down for this," Bonnie gestured to the couch.

"No thanks," Elena squinted her eyes in suspicion.

"Okay, but what you're gonna hear is going to shock you." Bonnie warned.

.

.

.

"You have any questions?" Bonnie asked Elena.

"Uhm... I don't even know what to think right now," Elena confined honestly with Bonnie.

"I'm sorry it had to spring on you like this, but I didn't really know how else to tell you. You seem like a nice girl Elena. And a strong one at that. I'm sure you can handle this new information just fine," Bonnie gave a reassuring smile.

Katherine on the other hand, was at a loss for words. Something she didn't have to experience before.

Elena and Katherine found out that the dress Bonnie had made for Elena, was one that _grants wishes._

Grants wishes to the wearer of the dress, to be more precise. So when Elena magically wished for Katherine, and the glowing little butterfly flew off into the night, it meant that her wish had been granted.

Insane, right?

Before Elena and Katherine left, Bonnie reminded them of the rules.

"You get three dresses, which means three wishes," Bonnie started, before being interrupted by Elena.

"Why three?" Elena paused before she realized she sounded like an ungrateful brat. "Is it a magic number or something?" She suggested.

"Look, I don't really know. Those are the just the rules. Look I have an alteration later today, so we should probably speed this up,"

"Don't you have elves for that sort of thing?" Katherine snarkily asked. Elena gave a quiet giggle.

"Right, carry on," Elena replied, before Bonnie continued.

"You do not talk about the Wish Club,"

"Got it,"

"You hear me? You can't talk about it. This is serious,"

"Trust me Bonnie. I don't have anyone to tell anyway,"

"Right," Bonnie smiled a timid smile before continuing, "The rest of the rules are pretty straight forward,"

 _Wishes will only be granted when the wisher is wearing the magical dress_

 _No wishing for ridiculously unattainable and universal things (ex. World peace, or end to hunger and poverty)_

 _No wishing for the same thing twice_

 _No wishing for more wishes_

Elena quickly signed the big ancient looking ledger before Bonnie snapped the book shut.

"That's it, Elena. Anything else is fair game," Bonnie announced

Elena was uncertain. "Wow -. I don't even know what to say,"

"There's nothing to it," Bonnie mentioned as she sat behind a sewing machine. Elena and Katherine were hovering at the door ready to leave, before Bonnie called to them.

"Before I forget, one more thing!" Bonnie's voice made them turn around, "...whatever you wish, wish carefully, and make sure it comes from the heart. Those are the only wishes that count,"

.

.

.

"At the end of the road, turn right," announced the new GPS system in Elena's otherwise rusty car. The British accent that came from her GPS made no sense to the human and the ghost in Elena's old Fiat, but it didn't matter to either of them.

"I think he means here," Katherine eagerly pointed toward the route veering right. All around them were beautiful views of everything California was known for. Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was Katherine that suggested (more like demanded) that her and Elena take a road trip.

" _We need to know what I can and can't do Elena. Seriously!"_ Katherine exclaimed, the moment that Elena and Katherine arrived back at the house.

So Elena and Katherine both spent the afternoon walking around iconic parts of the city that Katherine had always claimed she would move to when she was eighteen. Katherine taught Elena the skill of window shopping, where they quickly learned that while Katherine was solid to Elena and her things, she could pass through everything else. Much to Katherine's dismay, she couldn't sip a bowl of chai, or shoplift that one purse they saw at Nordstrom.

They walked through North Beach and the Marina. Russian Hill was one of Katherine's favourite spots. But her most favourite one of all was the one she secretly programmed into Elena's GPS, the location to which they were currently heading to.

The once paved road transitioned into a dirt pathway. Obviously one not travelled that often. As Elena peered over the steering wheel she was gripping to dear life, she noted a familiar scene.

They were going to Suasalito. The place where Miranda grew up. It was jarring to see that the same place Elena and Katherine were visiting, was once the backdrop to her mother's youth.

Elena, not forgetting where her grandparents used to live before they passed away, followed the path nearing the harbour.

Katherine jumped out of the car the moment Elena parked it on the grass. She was eager to see the old cabin and the yacht that Miranda had inherited. The _Sybil_ was the one thing Katherine fantasized about more than anything. There was nothing more that Katherine wanted to do, than to move to California and live out her dream of staying at her grandfather's old place.

Without either of them realizing it, Elena was living out Katherine's dream. She figured that all the sulking she was doing about being here was a total waste. She had Katherine to enjoy it with now.

They both climbed up to the roof-top deck of the cabin, where both of them were watching the sunset after a long day.

"I guess it isn't so bad here," Elena said with a sad smile.

"I mean, it isn't Mystic Falls, but you'll adjust," Katherine smiled.

"But everything will be so different. At school," Elena clarified.

"Come on," Katherine nudged Elena's small shoulder with her own. "Give it a chance. Besides, we have all of this to play with,"

Katherine opened her arms wide open, almost giving a hug to the entire city. Elena just laughed.

Before Katherine's death. Life seemed to be black and white and grey. She didn't taste anything in the food she ate, she didn't see any colour anywhere she looked, she didn't even feel anything for a while after Katherine's death.

But with Katherine around, Elena couldn't imagine life before she left.

As the sky turned from royal blue, to an exquisite inky gray, the Gilberts laid side-by-side just as they had when they were little; Elena connecting dotted constellations, and Katherine holding out for shooting stars.

.

.

.

"Anybody that tells you to be yourself, was clearly a loser in highschool," Katherine was giving her unapologetic, and yet totally unnecessary lecture on high-school. Elena had the privilege of listen to Katherine Gilbert and her new lesson on how to be _cool / likeable_. Clearly, not Elena.

"What does that mean anyway, _be yourself?"_ Katherine rhetorically questioned herself, as Elena with little commitment, rolled her eyes. She had perfected the art of acknowledging Katherine and her ramblings, without the look of a looney-bin nodding to herself in the middle of the hallway.

"I'm serious! I mean, nobody has an idea of who they are. Arguably, ever. But definitely not in _high school,"_

" _Katherine went on a limb there, but she did have a point,_ " Elena thought to herself.

"Who knows what makes some kids cool, and some kids not cool," Katherine mused to herself, pausing in thought, before continuing, "Actually, I do. It's all about confidence. It doesn't matter who you are, as long as you commit to being that person one hundred and fifty percent." she deduced.

Sure, Elena had been making an effort in the friend department, not really understanding Katherine's point, but doing it anyway for her sake. Katherine however, was definitely not happy with Elena's efforts on the other hand.

It was when Katherine was finally ready to throw in the towel, that Elena attempted to make a solid run, days after.

Whatever the Fates had in store that day, it ended Elena's dry spell in AP English. Elena was originally placed in Remedial English 101, but after explaining to her guidance counsellor that there had been a mistake, she was moved into AP English.

Elena sneaked into the class that had already started and took a seat at the back of the class.

"Virginia Woolf, was a lesbian. Haven't you guys seen _The Hours_ , she makes out with her sister," Tyler added.

"Thank you for that remarkable observation, " the teacher drawled, as the class giggled, including Caroline Forbes. He seemed like a young teacher, with an overdose of freckles scattering his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Katherine dubbed him as 'Freckles'.

As he glanced up at Elena, first dismissing it, but later taking a double look, he realized that there was a new student in the class.

"Who's this?"

Sixteen heads turned around to look at Elena. She just slouched further into her chair, hoping to disappear.

"Do. You. Have. A. Name?" Freckles sounded out each word as he stalked towards Elena. Talking to her as if he was talking to a child.

"Elena,"

"So no last name? Like Madonna?" Freckles questioned. Everyone giggled a bit.

"Okay Madonna," Freckles continued, as he was walking towards the front of the class again "My name is Mr. Tanner. Welcome to Advanced Placement English. You're joining us a little late in the term, so the learning curve might be a little steep,"

He turned around to face her again, "We are right in the middle of a unit on the Bloomsbury group, and today we are talking about Virginia Woolf's most significant novels, _To the Lighthouse._ I assume you got a list of the reading materials over the summer?"

"Oh, um, I think so-," Elena stuttered, "I mean no, I think-"

"This is a 'yes' or 'no' question Madonna. Not to hard to answer. Perhaps you should borrow a copy of the book. You will see that you will have a lot of catching up to do,"

Katherine, who took her spot near the desk, came up and reminded Elena.

"You can not let him talk to you like that. A teacher like that will _ruin_ you until you put him in his place," Katherine chided, before continuing, "You've read that book a hundred times. Don't tell me you already forgot about your precious homework room,"

Elena smiled, remembering the section of the mud room she co-opted after reading Virginia Woolf's essay _A Room of One's Own._ She was utterly convinced in order to do her homework properly she would need her own room.

By then, Tanner had already continued on without her,

"Who can tell me exactly what Woolf accomplished by-"

"I already read it,"

Elena leaned forward, her elbow points resting lightly on the desk.

"I'm sorry," Tanner was mid-scrawl on the chalkboard when he turned around.

"I've read it already," Elena clarified.

"Well, then. Maybe you can tell share with us your opinion on the novel,"

"Like, now?" Elena questioned.

"Like, yeah," Tanner mocked.

"You can do this Elena," Katherine said.

"Honestly, I think the novel is self-indulgent," Elena started.

"Care to explain?"

"I mean, clearly, the book was an attempt by Woolf to reconcile her feelings of inadequacy and guilt over the debt she owed her Elizabethan predecessors from whom she struggled to separate herself to varying degrees of success for the remainder of her career,"

After Katherine whispered something in her ear, Elena confidently took her bait.

"Plus, she was a lesbian,"

The entire class howled of laughter, and Katherine beamed at Elena's side. But _To the Lighthouse_ was quickly turning into her least favourite book.

.

.

.

"Hey, Madonna," Caroline called, when school had ended and everyone was heading home.

Caroline was waiting under a tree with two other girls.

"Madonna, this is Aimee, and this is Sarah," Caroline introduced them both.

"Madonna here, kicked Tanner's ass in class. He went on his little Napoleon routine and she didn't even flinch," Caroline proudly announced.

"So, what did he want?" Caroline went on to question.

"Who?"

"Tanner?" Caroline laughed. "I hope he wasn't too hard on you after class,"

"Oh, nothing like that. He just told me about the partner projects,"

Elena was certain Mr. Tanner was going to expel Elena right there on the spot when he asked her to hang around after class. Instead he'd given her the handout detailing the screen-adaption of _To the Lighthouse_ that was due in a couple of weeks.

"Oh good," Caroline sighed in relief, "Tanner lives for that shit,"

Caroline dove into her bag to grab a small envelope and handed it to Elena.

"My mother is the president of IWIN," Caroline started.

"IWIN?" Elena asked in confusion.

"International Women in Need. I'm junior chair. We're hosting a fundraiser at the Academy of Sciences. It should be a night of good music, great wine, drunken debauchery," Caroline giggled. "You should come,"

Katherine, listening to the whole thing right beside Elena gave her lines to say

"Say yes, but not like it's given,"

"Uhm, sure. I think I might be able to come," Elena gave as a response.

"Great! See you in class tomorrow!" Caroline called out as she left with Aimee and Sarah.

Elena looked down to see in a small neat script;

 _Madonna_

.

 _The Next Day_

.

Elena was running around the track, taking a view of the lake and the ducks waddling across towards it.

At Golden Prep, physical education was mandatory subject all four years.

And while she sucked at Yoga, a unit taught by instructor Riverstar, this track unit couldn't come soon enough.

Elena was a bit of a trackstar back in Mystic Falls. All she had to do was listen to some Beethoven, while the cheerleaders cheered on silently looking angry and the crowd pumped their fists in the air.

She heard in the distant background, some noise. Like someone was talking.

Elena turned around to see Stefan. She quickly pulled her earphones out.

"I am so sorry, did you say something?"

Stefan smirked, "I was only telling you the answers to life's greatest mysteries. Too bad you were listening to your music,"

Elena had to laugh.

"So what were you listening to anyway," Stefan asked her.

Elena debated telling a lie, like the Kings of Leon sound she heard from Stefan's band at the Spring Equinox, but settled for the truth.

"Beethoven," Elena settled for the truth.

"I'll have to listen some time,"

Elena smiled. Stefan went out of his way to learn more about her, and talking to him was very comfortable and charming, unlike talking to other boys.

Unknown to either of them, Elena managed to travel in front of Stefan. She slowed her pace to match his again.

"In case, you haven't noticed, I'm more of a Sunday stroll guy," Stefan mentioned sheepishly.

"I thought you were just enjoying the scenery," Elena joked, "At least i beats Yoga,"

"Oh come on, you are a natural,"

Elena's neck at the base started getting warm and no doubt splotchy.

" _He's noticed,"_

Elena was a bit embarrassed. She ran forward again.

"How are you liking the city so far?" Stefan called out.

"It's great. I mean, I haven't done any of the touristy things yet," Elena answered.

"There are great places to see in the city,"

"Speaking of places. What exactly is a farmer's market?"

The Bay area was known for it's farmer's markets but seeing as you would never find one in Mystic Falls, she had no idea how to act at one.

Stefan was shocked. "You've never been to a farmer's market before?"

He said it in a way that he was excited for her to go see one.

Stefan talked about some of the best places to go. The all you could eat buffet, just from all the samples at the different booths. All the different types of cheeses, and vegetables that were locally grown.

Elena, the girl, who after Katherine's tragic death, didn't even want to eat anymore, realized one thing as her stomach growled.

Elena was _hungry._

* * *

 **Thanks for the reviews Call. Me. Random, and Guest! I am half way done the third chapter. Hopefully, I would have something up soon, but I ain't making promises. I am so bad at updating regularly.**

 **Check out my profile to see my two other stories. One Kennett one-shot called SOULMATES, and another multi-chapter fic called WHEN TIME STARTS RUNNING OUT (any Klaroline fans reading this?)**

 **Thanks again for the support, let me know in the reviews of what you liked and didn't like in this chapter. And as always, follow and fav!**

 **Till Next Time,**

 **Ann**


	3. Part III

**Part III**

"Hey Elena!"

Elena heard a familiar voice call out for her.

"Caroline," Elena smiled.

"I have to ask, are you going to the IWIN fundraiser?"

Elena, who was unsure of whether she wanted to go, or stay at home with Grayson and watch Jeopardy, quickly ended the inner debate she had going on when Katherine nudged her shoulder.

"Yeah, I think I can make it. Why?"

"Okay good. Cause I have a huge favour to ask," Caroline looked at Elena, while Elena's face bore a questioning look.

"This event is supposed to be high class, with debauchery and I just can't get that dress of yours out of my mind," Caroline trailed off with a nervous laugh. One that Elena didn't she would hear from her.

"I was wondering, if have the time this week, you could take me to the place where you got that gorgeous green dress from?" Caroline hesitantly asked her voice raising to a higher pitch at the end, unsure if Elena and her were even close enough, and whether or not they were even at the stage where they can shop together.

While both Elena and Caroline were at a slightly comfortable level of acquaintances, they hadn't really stepped into the role of friends. Caroline figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know Elena a little better.

Katherine was thrilled at the idea of getting to shop with a friend. Well, she was excited that she could finally see _Elena_ shop with _her_ friend.

"The place I went to isn't really a store. It's more of a custom designer studio. Bonnie was the one that made the dress for me," Elena hesitated.

She very well knew that she couldn't give away Bonnie and her address, but with Katherine glaring her on, Elena understood that she may never get this chance again.

"That's awesome!" Caroline smiled, teeth in full view, "I would love to go and see her pieces. If that green dress is any indicator, she has great taste,"

Elena wished that Bonnie could hear Caroline's kind words, for she knew that Bonnie would be absolutely pissed when she sees someone enter through the doors with her.

"Yeah she does," She lamely replied.

Caroline quickly checked her phone after a short vibration, and she looked up at Elena with an apologetic look on her face.

"I am so sorry, I have to meet up with Sarah right now, I think she has an emergency. But I'll call and let's meet up,"

Elena simply shook her head in agreement. "Yeah, of course," And with that, Caroline gave a wave, and she left.

"Congratulations, Elena. You just made a friend," Katherine praised her, simultaneously mocking her a bit. Elena jumped in surprise, forgetting for a second that Katherine was beside her. But Elena was anything but happy.

"You do realize what's going to happen if I take her to the Bennett Boutique right?" Elena asked incredulously.

"Bonnie needs the business anyway, Elena. What type of business model does she have anyway? No wonder she isn't able to make money. We'll be doing her a favour," Katherine scoffed.

"I'm serious, Kat. We made a deal. It was the same deal that brought you back to me," Elena started walking towards her house, whispering low so Katherine could catch her words.

"I understand 'Lena. But don't stress," Katherine walked right beside her, elbows intwined.

"If you say so,"

Katherine just gave her sister her infamous smirk.

.

.

.

Elena hustled through the crowded lobby after school, Katherine casually walking through people. The girl's volleyball team, led by Aimee, the team's captain, was parading en masse out of the locker room and down the hall into the foyer.

"I knew we should have left class early," Elena worried. "What if we missed her already?"

"You'll be okay, little sis," Katherine chided Elena's unnecessary worry. She had been prepping Elena all afternoon for her shopping trip with Caroline, and Elena had done her best to pay attention, but all she could do was mentally replay and analyze excerpts from her lakeside conversation with Stefan. And as ashamed as she felt, needless to say spending time with Stefan's _girlfriend_ was a little bit of a downer.

"There she is!" Elena screeched, pointing through the glass to one of the dark wooden benches outside. Caroline looked lovely as ever with a faded scarlet tunic, with a golden sari like embellishments at the collar, stretchy indigo jeans and a bright yellow scarf.

As Elena got through the doors and walked to the bench, she was met with Caroline talking through her phone.

"No problem," she said sweetly into the phone.

"Sorry," Caroline said to Elena, tucking her phone into the inside pocket of her extra-large tote. "I'd asked my dad's driver to take us around today, but it's so nice out, I thought maybe we could walk instead. Do you mind?"

"Sure," Elena agreed. "I mean, no. I don't mind," She smiled sheepishly.

Elena and Caroline had been walking for a while, turning onto Haight Street, and had hardly walked a block when Elena noticed that just about every person they passed-from the clusters of runaway teens, to old men pushing grocery carts, to camera-toting tourists at spinning postcard racks-stopped to watch Caroline as she passed. A few of the more brazen onlookers whistled or called out, and if Caroline noticed, she didn't even let on.

"I didn't even ask where we're going," Caroline said, as they waited at the crosswalk, smiling an easy and infectious grin. "I hope it is somewhere nearby,"

"It's near Dolores Park,"

"Okay." Caroline shrugged. "It's a bit of a hike, but I'm up for it if you are,"

Elena just smiled in return.

.

.

.

"This is it," Elena announced to Caroline.

Caroline was a little shocked at the sparse storefront, not to mention the 'Closed' sign hanging precariously on a Command Hook stuck to the glass door.

"This is her store?" Caroline asked in doubt.

"Don't be turned off by the front. It's much better inside," Elena comforted Caroline's growing concern.

Caroline took a deep breath. "Well, let's head inside Bennett's Boutique,"

Elena opened the door, holding it for Caroline behind her.

Caroline couldn't help but be awe-inspired by the studio in front of her with its high ceilings and colourful fabrics gracing every corner of the location.

Elena just grew more wary of Bonnie's coming reaction. She was reminded of Katherine's reassuring presence, who stayed silent the entire time, scared of messing Elena up in front of Caroline. What wasn't reassuring was the fact that Elena was the only one who could see her.

"Let me go find her," Elena looked back at Caroline.

Caroline only nodded in response.

Elena slowly inched towards the base of the stairs. They led up all the way onto a second floor.

" _Probably where all the magic happens,"_ Elena thought to herself.

"Hello," Elena called out.

No response. But she did hear footsteps getting louder.

They suddenly stopped.

"Bonnie?" She called out again.

"What are you doing here Elena?" Bonnie asked. She was at the top of the stairs, looking down on Elena, with surprise.

"I need your help," Elena responded.

"I guess you are here for another dress" Bonnie replied, amused.

"Bonnie," Elena's voice contained hesitation. She knew that bringing Caroline to the boutique wasn't right, but she didn't appreciate the treatment from Bonnie.

Bonnie heard the footsteps of someone else in the studio.

"Who is that?" Bonnie cautiously asked, as if not wanting to know the answer.

"It's my friend,Caro-"

"Elena. I thought I told you that you shouldn't talk about -" Bonnie was interrupted by Elena.

"I didn't tell her. Don't worry," Elena glanced back at Caroline. "I just brought her here,"

"Well you shouldn't have," Bonnie half-scolded. She walked down the next couple of steps, her flats clapping against the laminated floor. For a few seconds, the only thing that could be heard was that clapping noise, echoing against the walls of the large studio.

"I know that now, but please," Elena begged.

"Please what? I can't make your friend a dress like I did for you,"

"I never wanted you to. Just come down the stairs will you? And talk with her?" Elena was in fear of how Bonnie will react with Caroline. She just hoped that things would go by better than she had expected.

Bonnie just rolled her eyes in annoyance, as she continued to walk down the remaining steps into the main storefront. Elena walked in front of her, eyeing Katherine as she sat on a red chair, looking at the cover of a magazine she couldn't touch.

It was that moment that Caroline decided to grace them with her presence.

"Hi! My name is Caroline Forbes. You must be Bonnie Bennett," Caroline started, "I love the design you did for Elena. That green number is to die for," Caroline's fingers found themselves caressing the dress on the idol beside her.

"Please. I would appreciate if you didn't touch," Bonnie's voice was clipped.

Caroline's fingers fell beside her body awkwardly and she casted her eyes to the ground.

"I hope we aren't interrupting," Caroline said with genuine alarm.

Bonnie in turn, said nothing.

"No," Elena stepped in, suddenly feeling protective and eager to make Caroline feel comfortable, considering she was the one that brought her here in the first place. "Bonnie is just surprised to see me back so soon, I bet. Right?"

Katherine just slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead.

Bonnie looked up and met Elena's desperate stare. "Never saw it coming," she replied, her voice dripping with irony.

"Well, how about if I tell you what I was hoping for, and you can tell _me_ if I am totally out of my mind," Caroline joked, as she sat herself on one of the couches, the same one Elena sat on, when she first found out about what really goes on in this almost abandoned store-front.

"Yes. You are,"

Elena's jaw slightly slacked, before looking at Katherine who mouthed, "Holy PMS"

She watched as a tiny vein in Bonnie's neck throbbed.

"Well. Maybe this is a bad time. I guess I should come back when I can give you more notice,"

Caroline strolled back toward the door before turning and smiling warmly at Bonnie. "It was nice meeting you," she smiled. "You do beautiful work."

Bonnie bowed her head. "Thank you," she muttered, and Elena finally exhaled, never realizing she was holding her breath in.

Caroline pressed through the door, turning back to Elena. "Coming?"

Elena nodded. "Just a sec," she held up one finger. Caroline smiled politely and stepped out into the street.

"I am really sorry," she said, as the door's chimes moved. "I don't know what I was thinking,"

Bonnie shrugged, refusing to make meaningful eye contact as she stuffed a pile of receipts into a manila envelope.

"Do you still want your dress or not?" she asked.

Elena felt like leaping and giving her a huge hug, but managed to restrain herself to a "Yes,please."

Outside, Caroline was ruffling through her bag for her purple water bottle.

"I am so sorry," Elena gushed, as she made it outside. "I had no idea she would react that way,"

Caroline took a sop and waved the apology away. "Don't even worry about it," she insisted. "Creative people are always moody. You don't get to pick and choose your clients if you don't have talent."

Elena nodded as Caroline threaded her slender arms through the sleeves of her green army coat. The wind had started to pick up and the sun was hiding behind a low layer of clouds.

"O guess I should do the usual shopping rounds." Caroline sighed. "I can't believe how long I've waited to deal with this. It's been like, nonstop planning, helping my mom get everything together,"

Elena nodded with what she hoped was a sympathetic smile, hugging her arms to her waist, keeping warm against the fall chill.

"Oh,well," Caroline smiled, checking the clunky leather-strapped men's watch she wore around one slender wrist.

"Oh my God! My mom is going to lose it. I am supposed to meet her at the caterer's in ten minutes. Something about a shellfish crisis…"

Katherine made a face and Elena laughed. Luckily, Caroline did too.

"See you tomorrow?" Caroline asked.

Elena smiled. "Sure," she said, hefting her book tote higher up her arm and tucking her straight brown hair under her right ear.

"Wish me luck!," she called back to Elena. "Oh and thanks for trying,"

"Anytime," Elena answered, and realized that she'd meant it.

And with that, Caroline turned on her heel to cross the street, in her worn out gladiator flats.

.

 _Next Week_

.

Elena and Katherine sat in the back of a musty-smelling cab, bottlenecked at the entrance to Golden Gate Park. The wide avenues of the city dead-ended into a lush, dense forest, and in the distance Elena could just make out the winding paths snaking in and out of exotic trees and plants.

"Enough, 'Lena," Katherine chided, as Elena glanced anxiously from her watch to the window for the seventeenth time since they had left the house. "Nobody gets to these things on time anyway,"

Katherine had been talking about the Academy of Sciences, the science museum hosting Caroline's IWIN fundraiser.

Elena nodded and began to absentmindedly picking at the hem of her dress, which Bonnie had left in a familiar folded bag at the top of the Larsens' stoop late the night before.

After the disastrous encounter at the stop with Caroline, Elena worried that Bonnie might not come through this time, or worse, lock her into wearing something hideous. But one glimpse inside the dusty garment bag had laid all of Elena's quiet fears to rest.

The dress couldn't have been more different from the first gown Bonnie had made, although the effect was the same. For one thing, it was short, much shorter than Elena had ever worn before. And it was strapless. But the silver bodice was constructed from layers of bunched tulle and was busy enough to make Elena feel like she was fully exposed, while still managing to look both sexy and understated.

"Damn," Elena had said when Elena first tried it on. "What the girl lacks in personality she certainly makes it up in style,"

Currently, as Katherine spotted Elena anxiously tugging at the bottom of the clinging skirt, she swatted her sister's hand away. "Cut it out," she scolded. "The fastest way to ruin a great outfit is to fidget,"

Elena with great effort, folded her hands in her lap successfully keeping her hands still for all of three seconds before picking at her fingernails.

"Relax!" Katherine commanded. "What can we do to calm you down?" Katherine thought to herself out loud.

Elena shrugged and turned her attention back toward the window, where what looked like a sea of blurring brake lights stretched out ahead of them, red and pulsing as far as the eye could see.

"Maybe we should get out of here and walk," Elena suggested, leaning toward the glass divider to speak to the driver as Katherine held out an arm and forced her sister back into her seat.

"I have a better idea," Katherine said slyly. "Let's talk about what you're going to wish for tonight,"

Elena sighed and slumped back into the upholstered seat. She closed her eyes just as the traffic started to move, picking up into a steady slide against the dark, wet pavement.

"You have something amazing here 'Lena," Katherine continued. "I have been trying to stay quiet because I know you aren't the wishing type. But just think about it. Anything you want to happen can happen. You just have to decide what that is,"

Elena looked out the window, searching the deepest crevices of her brain for inspiration.

" _Anything,"_ she thought. _"I can have anything,"_

But still, her mind drew a big fat blank.

Before she'd known she could wish for things, she probably wouldn't have had so much trouble at least coming up with ideas. And before Katherine had come back, the only thing she'd ever dreamed about was one more day with her sister. But now that Katherine was here, right here beside her again, wishing for anything else seemed frivolous and fake.

She had her sister back. What more could she want?

"Here you go," the cab driver barked from the front seat, as the cab slowed to a stop at the bottom of a long, wide staircase.

"Saved by the taxi," Katherine murmured, as she begrudgingly got out of the car.

After Elena paid the driver, and he sped off, she stepped onto the damp grass and straightened the ruffled layers of her skirt, looking up at the modern building and sleek revolving doors. "How do I look?" Elena asked, Katherine's head swiveling back at the sound of Elena's voice.

"Like me," she smiled, "Only better.

.

.

.

"Is this thing even on?" Caroline was standing on a square, raised platform, tapping a microphone against the palm of her hand and conferring with a scruffy-faced guy in a pin-striped suit, earlier introduced as IWIN's cultural ambassador.

The Academy of Sciences, Elena decided, was basically a science museum on steroids.

On either side of the building, were two enormous bio-domes, one an enclosed living rain forest, with hanging vines and flowering plants pressed up against the glass, and the other, a high-tech planetarium. Neither exhibit was open for reception, but just being sandwiched between them made Elena feel cultured and important.

"She even makes public speaking look fun," Katherine marveled from where she was sitting cross-legged on a table doubling as an exhibition space. Elena glanced at her smiling sister and felt a hard lump at her throat. Most of the time, it was easy to forget that Katherine wasn't actually there. But during moments like this, when the contrast against real life seemed so stark-the rest of the room in their elegant black-tie attire and Katherine looking like she stepped off the beach with her black bikini top worn underneath some jean shorts and a net cardigan on top.

The outfit she wore when she died.

It was just too much to think about at times.

"Thanks everybody so much coming," Caroline shouted into the now-working microphone to a round of warm applause. "For those of you who are new, I'm Caroline Forbes, the Junior Chair for IWIN. I know my mum explained to you guys very quickly what we do here, but unfortunately she had to leave. Can't abandon the police force for the city!"

Everyone laughed.

"But I wanted to talk about what we can do on a local level right here at home! We've started doing thrift stores in Manhattan. People donate their …" Caroline's voice started to fade into the background as she started noticing movement from the corner of her eye.

" _Stefan is walking towards me! What do I do?"_

"Damn he is looking fine," Katherine nodded.

That didn't ease her palpitating heart.

"Hey Elena," Stefan called her name. She turned around.

" _Katherine is right,"_

"Hey Stefan. You enjoying the fundraiser so far?" Elena cautiously asked.

"Suits and ties aren't really my thing," Stefan was obviously uncomfortable in the outfit he was in, but of course, he didn't realize how good he can pull one off, "But, I gotta support my girlfriend, so I'm here. Besides, the booze is pretty good," Stefan smiled at Elena.

Suddenly there was clapping, which cued both Elena and Stefan to start clapping too. She heard absolutely nothing.

Minutes later, Elena saw Caroline bring two expensive looking drinks in champagne glasses.

"Sorry babe, could only bring two," Caroline addressed Stefan giving him a kiss on the cheek in consolation.

He gripped her waist in return.

Elena took the glass that Caroline had out for her and took a sip. It was quite strong.

"What is this?" Elena asked.

"It's like Bellini, only stronger," Caroline smiled and took another sip.

Elena could only nod, pretending like she knew what this drink was, except she had no idea what a Bellini even was. The only thing that scrolled through her brain was lists of Italian directors or fascist dictators.

.

.

.

The night was fun. She ended up drinking far more than she should have been allowed, but she had fun. That was the important part.

Elena and Katherine ended up grabbing a taxi again to get back home, and Elena fell right back on the bed.

.

 _The Next Morning_

 _._

It was 9:00 when she woke up. In that dress she wore the other night. Her second dress and she still hadn't made a wish.

And she still didn't know what to do.

Maybe she could just ask Bonnie for the third dress and just keep them when she really needed them.

It was the afternoon when she decided that she seriously needed to see that Farmer's Market that Stefan told her about.

So that Saturday morning, while Katherine complained about going somewhere in the wee hours of 12:00 in the afternoon

" _Come on 'Lena! Can't we stay in bed?"_

Today was different for Elena however. She was excited for something for once, since her sister died. Elena wanted to go out and taste great food, and interact with cool people.

So Katherine had to toughen up and join her

"Farmers are so hot," she would exclaim later that day.

A stunning revelation, but nonetheless totally unexpected for Katherine. Farmers could be (and were) attractive people.

"Seriously, why didn't I know this before?" Katherine questioned herself.

Elena just smiled, as she continued down the walk, marveling at all the different items up on display.

"Elena?" A voice called from behind.

Katherine, who was standing beside her at that point, and Elena both turned around.

" _Stefan?_ What are you doing here?" Elena smiled at the sight of Stefan.

"I wonder if he'd look hot in overalls," Katherine slightly murmured to herself in curiousity.

"See you've taken my advice up on finding the farmer's market. Did you get to check any of the booths out yet?" He asked.

"I just got here actually," Elena was here for an hour already, but it was something to say. Plus, she was hoping Stefan could give her a little tour.

"Awesome! I get to show you the best booths on the block. Skip your breakfast, and you could get a whole meal just out of the free samples," he grinned/

"Well then, show me the way,"

* * *

 **Hey guys! It's been a while. Super sorry to those who are waiting on When Time Starts Running Out because that is gonna take a while. I just want to make a quick note that this chapter isn't over, I will be editing this chapter and adding more to this, but I figured since you guys waited months for something, I should give you this pretty large chunk of a precursor to the actual chapter. **

**I don't know how many of you know this, but I am actually a first year engineering student. With that comes a lot of assignments and labs and whole days are eaten up working on five courses over the span of four months per semester. I can't say that I can dedicate anything legitimately, however I will not let these stories go, meaning I will finish them at some point, but I won't start any new stories, nor will I be able to update every week. (I will def lose followers, and for that I am extremely sorry).**

 **But university is eating away at me literally, I have lost so much weight, and the ring on my finger that used to fit me perfectly is sliding off with so much ease. And that's scaring the shit out of me. I need to find a balance again before I go back to writing properly.**

 **I would like to thank everyone for their support, and I promise you I will not abandon any of my stories, (consists of 2 right now but,) and I will continue writing, even if it is in my fourth year, and I'm drowning in work.**

 **Till Next Time!**

 **Ann**


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